Public services in Toronto

Public services in Toronto are funded by municipal property taxes, financial transfers from the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada, or are operated and financed by the higher-level governments. Funding for services provided by the municipal government is determined by a vote of the Toronto City Council in favour of the year's proposed operating budget; Toronto's operating budget in 2007 was $7.8 billion, and its capital budget was 1.43 billion.

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Revenue sources for the city's operational budget consist of transfers and subsidies from the provincial and federal governments ($1.944 B), user fees ($1.205 B) and withdrawals from the reserve fund ($0.5 B). Property taxes represent 42% of the budget ($3.221 B), which is referred to as the Net Operating Budget.[1] All other sources total approximnately $1.0 B.

Health services in Toronto are quite extensive, and benefit from the intensive and broad medical research conducted in the city. Hospitals are publicly financed, primarily by the provincial government, but also via federal government transfers to the province, some private sources (e.g. - lotteries) and through charitable and philanthropic donations.

Family doctors have private practices funded by the provincial government. Paramedic and ambulatory services are funded by the city. Also, non-profit palliative care services exist.

Various modes of transportation are available in the city. Operation of the Toronto Transit Commission is funded by the municipal government and user receipts, but infrastructure projects may receive funding from provincial and federal sources.

Roads within the city are a municipal responsibility, but major highways, such as the 400-series highways, are provincially funded and operated. In the winter, the city provides snow removal services on its roads and on property it owns, such as parking lots at libraries and swimming pools.

The city's waste is collected by private operators under contract to the city. Some businesses make separate arrangements for their waste, as do hospitals for some of their waste. Collection includes garbage, recyclable materials, and compostable materials. Hazardous waste is also handled separately. The city's green bin program for compostable material was first tested in parts of Etobicoke, a suburb in the northwest.

The Toronto Police Service is one of the oldest English-language modern municipal police departments in the world. Its operational is funded via the municipal government, and represents the single-greatest yearly expenditure in the city's operating budget.